Love my Summery Top!

If you remember a few posts ago, I showed you the skinny, cropped leg pants I sewed in a white stretch denim.  Well, I finally found a day to sew this comfy top to go with them.  This top is definitely a draft and Made in a Day project.  (PS That's fragrant star jasmine in the background.)

The fabric I choose was a Nicole Miller colorful knit.  I just loved the colors and the bold summery pattern.

It was is a 2-way stretch knit - meaning it stretches both horizontally and vertically.

To test the stretch of the knit, pick up 10"  and stretch comfortably.  The first photo shows 10" from 'pinch to pinch' in a horizontal (crosswise) direction.  The second photo shows it stretching easily to 13".  This qualifies as a Limited to Moderate stretch knit.  Therefore I sized my pattern down 1 dot.

This fabric also has vertical stretch.  See both the following photos where you can see that I'm now doing the stretch test parallel to the selvage (meaning vertical stretch).  10" stretches comfortably to 14".  So this means I sized down 1 measurement dot ALL THE WAY AROUND THE ENTIRE PATTERN.

Because the fabric was so stretchy, I definitely used fusible stay tape on the shoulder seams.  You can see I used Emma Seabrooke's Stay Tape.

For the design of the top, I used a combination of the diagonal hem Tank Top (which you can find on this page - http://www.surefitdesigns.com/DigitalE-Goods.html ) and moved the bust dart down into the waist fitting dart as is shown for the High/Low Hemmed Swing Top which is on page 38 of the 6th edition Dress Kit Instruction book.

What I did differently?  I scooped the neck only 2" at CF and I didn't add the extra flare at CF or the side seams of the High/Low Hemmed Swing Top.  The sleeve is a slim, 3/4 length sleeve from the Dress Kit Sleeve for Stretchy/Knit fabrics.

 And, in case you like the asymmetrical side seam lengths on my 5'4" tall body, the short side measures 16" long and the longer side measures 24" long finished.

The pattern was drawn and fabric cut out in the morning.  The entire top was sewn in the afternoon.  It really does qualify for a Made in a Day project.

 Happy Sewing!

Large Upper Arm - Effective Alternative

Those of you with large upper arms (large biceps) in relation to the bodice armscye opening, often struggle to make the sleeve cap fit nicely into the bodice.  The wider you make the underarm width of your sleeve pattern, the longer the sleeve cap becomes and this in turn can result in a gathered sleeve cap.  If you don't want a gathered cap, then you're often instructed to widen the bodice at the underarm thereby making the armscye curve longer to accept the widened sleeve.  But this means that the bodice circumference becomes excessively large for you.

In a recent Fit & Sew Retreat, we incorporated a different alternative so that extra width was added for the large upper arm, but it did not require either widening the bodice or gathering the sleeve cap.  Here's what we did.  We widened the underarm seam by curving it outward a sufficient amount to equal her bicep circumference measurement plus about 2" of wearing ease.  The minimum amount of ease in a sleeve is 1 1/2".  Without this ease, the sleeve will feel way too tight.

The following illustration shows how the underarm was drawn.  For clarity, this illustration does not include seam allowances.  Notice how at the underarm point as you would sew from there to the hem level, the new red stitching line would follow the original seam line.  But at the 5/8" level, it then begins a curved journey outward to allow for the fullness of the bicep plus wearing ease.

It's kind of a novel approach, but it works very well...as you can see in the following photos.

And when set in to the armscye, the sleeve looks like this.  This is definitely an acceptable alternative to traditional techniques for widening the upper arm of the sleeve pattern.

Here's what her actual sleeve pattern looked like.  You'll see the red lines on either side of the underarm which indicates where she actually stitched to begin the underarm curve. We kept the remaining underarm extension on the pattern just in case we didn't like the result so that's why it looks a little different from the illustration above.  And of course, this sleeve pattern has the seam allowances in place and we needed to make one other minor tune-up for the re-positioning of the sleeve cap notch due to a forward-thrusted shoulder bone.  I'll cover that tune up in a different blog.

If you happen to have a large upper arm and the sleeve pattern needs widening for your wearing comfort, next pattern you draw you might want to give this a try.

Happy Sewing,

Remember Lorraine's Dresses?

In a previous blog, I showed you a number of 'basic' dresses that were sewn for Lorraine.  Remember these?

 On a recent trip to Portland, while window shopping, this dress looked so much like Lorraine's, I wondered if they were 'twin sisters'.

The color is almost identical, it is sewn from a lacey fabric, and it's just a basic dress.  Here's a close-up of the dart structure.

And on the other mannequin, there was a white lace dress.

The price tag for the aqua marine lace dress - $168.00....just checking...you know!  Needless to say the 'fit' with Sure-Fit Designs is far superior and the 'fee' far less.

If you happened to miss the blog showing all of Lorraine's dress - click here.

Happy Copying!

Good time & Worked Hard

 

June 2016 Fit & Sew Retreat

I thought you might like to see the lovely group of ladies that attended the

June 4-9 Fit & Sew Retreat.  This time we had international representation:

South Africa, Illinois, Indiana, South Carolina & the United Kingdom.

What a diverse and wonderful group of women.

We had sway backs, rounded backs, full fronts, tummy's, large upper arms, heavy thighs - all unique, individual fit issues.  Nobody was quite 'straight out of the box', but with the flexibility of Sure-Fit Designs all ladies ended up with bodice and pants body blueprints that represented their unique shapes.  As I get more of the photos edited, you'll see additional blogs highlighting some of the issues and what we did achieve the best fit.  But outside of all the fit issues, we all had a lot of fun too.

We all took a little time to relax and share stories during 'Crunchies & Beverages'.

Happy Sewing!

Make It Sew - Beginner's Sewing Series - Intro Special

So many ladies want to get started fitting and sewing with Sure-Fit Designs, but are worried that they are a beginner or even intermediate seamstress and perhaps think they may not have the necessary sewing skills.

Well, worry no more!  Sure-Fit Designs has recently produced our latest DVD series for beginner seamstresses.

Make it Sew!

This new DVD series consists of 4 DVDs, containing detailed 28 lessons and 6 1/2 hours of sewing how-to instruction.

Beginners...Get started with the right foundation - learn appropriate sewing techniques.
Intermediates...brush up and refine your existing sewing skills.

Teach yourself the sewing basics with Glenda the Good Stitch in the Make It Sew DVD series.

Even though this mini-series will eventually be made available to you in installments on YouTube over the next 7 months, you don't have to wait.  You can get your complete Make It Sew DVD series now to complement your sewing library.

 Lesson Highlights:

• Grainline identification
• Layout/cutting/marking
• Sewing darts & pleats
• Sewing seams plus seam finishing techniques
• Invisible zipper application
• Lapped zipper application
• Centered zipper application
• 3 Waistband applications

•  Setting in a woven sleeve
• Setting in a knit sleeve
• Pocket identification and Patch Pocket application
• Mitering corners
• Sewing facings
• Sewing the rolled collar
• Sewing buttons
• Sewing buttonholes

To see a complete list of each lesson, please click on over to Make It Sew.

And for a limited time, this new DVD series is being introduced with a 25% savings.  Regularly priced at $39.80, until June 19 you can purchase your complete set for $29.95.  To receive this discount, please use Discount Code MIS25 while in the Shopping Cart.
Click here to claim your savings.

To watch highlights and a short overview of what is included in this Make It Sew DVD series, watch this video below.

If you're a seamstress who is returning to sewing after a few years absence, this is a super series to help you get back on track and build your confidence.  Teach yourself the sewing basics with Glenda the Good Stitch in the Make It Sew DVD series.

Enjoy!

Darts and Side Seams: - Perfecting the Dart

I may have talked about this topic before - perfecting the dart extension point and the effect on the side seam.  But even if I have, it's well worth talking about again.  And now there are photos to help explain the situation and what happens.

Depending on two factors, 1) the width of the dart (A, B, C etc), and 2) the angle of the dart - it's position on the side seam in relation to your apex position, both can affect the amount of dart extension that is required for it to properly sew in straight with the side seam cut edge.

If the dart extension isn't long enough, it means that when the dart is folded in the correct finished location, the seam allowance edges won't meet when stitching the side seams.

Here's what it looks like if it's not 'perfected'.  The above photo shows the 'inside' of the bodice pattern.  The photo below shows the 'right' side of the pattern.

Even though I demo and teach how to 'perfect' the dart during the Fit & Sew Retreats, I've seen ladies skip this step (easy to forget when there's so much happening in this workshop) and then pull on the edge of the dart until it does meet the side seam when sewing front to back bodice.  Then, when the bodice is on your body, it will create a pull (drag) line from that lower dart leg toward the side and center of the bodice.  (Sorry I don't have a photo of the drag line...I accidentally deleted it when clearing the images from the camera).

But the next photo shows you how the drag line has disappeared when the seam is opened up and the dart extension point is released.

If this happens to you, it's easy to confuse this drag line as a 'fit' issue and not the 'pattern' issue that it is.  When the dart is 'perfected' properly, the drag line goes away.

The Adjust-A-Bust template is a great tool for getting the correct width of dart, but it's impossible on this template to provide all the possible scenarios for the dart's extension point.  It's always best to perfect the dart when drawing your bodice blueprint.

 Here's a short video tutorial on 'Perfecting the Dart'.

You'll also find written directions for Perfecting the Dart on page 8 of the Dress Kit Instruction Book - 5th Edition.

Kindly,
Glenda...the Good Stitch!

New Format/Layout for SFD Video Library

Most of you are familiar with the Sure-Fit Designs Learning Center and the extensive Video Library we offer to everyone.

There was getting to be so many free videos that this web page was becoming exceedingly long and cumbersome for you to sort through to find what you wanted help with.

So now, it has been revised into major categories - like General Info Videos, Ordering Info, Dress Kit, Pants Kit, Shirt Kit etc.  The following image is what the new Video Library index looks like:

 I hope you're able to read this image.  Basically what it's saying, is that you need to choose the major category you are interested in.  Then from there, click on the link to the right of the category.  This will then take you to that particular page of videos.

For a better view, just click on over to the SFD Learning Center Video Library.

It's much more manageable to read.  And as our free video offerings keep coming, the Video Library will be much more easily managed and navigated.

I hope you like it, but if you see ways that it could be improved, please let me know in the Comment Box below.

Happy Stitching,
Glenda...the Good Stitch

Basic Dress Transformed

I see so many 'basic test dress muslins' that it's a real treat to see a body blueprint transformed into fashion dresses.

One of our SFD sewists (Caroline P. from Santiago Chile) was recently visiting with her mother and sister Lorraine (in South Africa).  She took all of her SFD master patterns and necessary tools with her...and her sister became the recipient of not only a perfect-fitting body blueprint but also many lovely dresses sewn by her mother.

As you look at the dresses, notice that the majority of them are simply the basic dress style (with all the regular darting structure - see SFD illustration below left) but sewn in a variety of fashion fabrics.  What a difference dress fashion fabric makes to the dress.  Sometimes when you're in the testing stage and sewing out of muslin, it's hard to envision a different outcome.  But take a look at these - basic, but beautiful.

This aqua 'lacey' dress was copied from a Pinterest find...the pink lace dress below.

 

Sleeveless and perfect for summer.

This lovely woman is decked out for many dress occasions to come!  Thanks to C.P. for the body blueprint, to mom the seamstress, and to sister for the modeling and sharing the results.

And...Happy Stitching to all of you!
Glenda...the Good Stitch.